Product Description

Incan Gold is a game in which players push their luck as they head into a ruined temple, attempting to find the most jewels. Each turn, a card is turned over that increases the gold found in a temple or shows a hazard. Players can attempt to escape, keeping the loot that they've acquired, or stay in the temple, hoping for increased profits. As players escape, those in the temple will acquire bigger shares of each pile of gold found, but also run the risk of dying if the same hazard card is drawn twice. Up to eight people can play this game, and it works very well at parties and other gatherings, as players decide whether or not to stay or leave the temples. With quality components and a compelling theme, Incan Gold will be the first choice of large groups looking for a fun filled game.

In his series The Dice Tower Audio Reviews, noted reviewer Tom Vasel provides short audio (mp3) reviews of both new and old games. Tom knows games, and these audio reviews are a great way to find out more!

Product Reviews

I managed to jump into a game of Diamant a couple years ago at
Origins, led none other than one of the designers himself – Alan Moon.
The game was quick, simple – and I remember thinking how much fun I
had in such a small amount of time. I wanted to pick up a copy, but
was amazed at how much the game cost, so let it go for a while. When
I heard that an American reprint was being done, I was exceptionally
eager to get my hands on a copy and, after several delays, finally got
to play Incan Gold (Sunriver and Funagain Games, 2007 – Alan Moon and
Bruno Faidutti).

And I still can’t believe what an amazing gem of a game this is.
It’s a short, simple game that handles up to eight players, and I can
see it getting literally scores of plays over the year. Everyone I
played the game with enjoyed it tremendously, and it’s a wonderful
game to fit in at the beginning or end of a gaming session. The game
is perhaps a little under-produced, but it’s sold for a reasonable
price and is highly portable.

Each player in Incan Gold is an adventurer (Indiana Jones style) who
is searching an Incan temple for gold and trials. The game takes
place over five rounds with five temple cards that form a “game board”
of sorts, although it’s completely unnecessary. Each player receives
a tent card, folded in half to form an actual small tent, and two
player cards – one with a torch on it, the other with a picture of the
players’ camp. A pile of treasures in three denominations (1, 5, and
10) is placed near the board, and one player takes a deck of thirty
cards (fifteen hazard cards – three each of fire, spiders, rockslide,
monster, and snakes; and fifteen treasure cards, with various values
from “1” to “17”). The first round is ready to begin.

Each round, one artifact card is added to the deck, and the player
turns over one of the temple cards to mark the round. The player with
the deck then turns over the top card from the deck. If the card is a
treasure card, the players all equally divide it amongst themselves
(if possible), with the remainder placed on the card. Players set
these treasures beside their tent. If the card is a Hazard, nothing
happens, UNLESS the Hazard card is the same type as one that has
already been turned over. If this occurs, then all players still in
the temple lose all treasures next to their tent, and the Hazard card
is removed from the game. If an artifact card is turned over, it is
simply left on the table.

After this, players all must decide whether or not they wish to stay
in the temple. Each player places one of their cards face down, using
the Camp card if they wish to leave, or the Torch card if they wish to
continue exploring. Cards are revealed simultaneously, and players
who used the Camp card are “safe”. The players split all the gems
that are still on cards on the path, leaving the remainder of them.
They then place all of the gems next to their tent underneath it and
are finished with the round. Additionally, if there are one or more
Artifacts on the table, and only ONE player leaves the temple, they
receive the artifacts. The first three artifacts are worth five
treasures, the last two ten treasures.

The rest of the adventurers continue on, with another card being
flipped over; until either everyone is crushed in the Temple, or
everyone has escaped. Once this occurs, the deck is reshuffled,
another artifact added, and the next round begins. After five rounds,
players reveal the treasures under their tents and add them to the
value of their artifacts for their final score. The player with the
highest total is the winner!

Some comments on the game…

1.) Components: The game comes in a small, flat box – equivalent to
those used in the Kosmos two-player series, and easily holds all the
cards and the generous amount of treasures. The treasures are plastic
polyhedral and are fun to move around and create a nice visual effect.
I do think that there are too many “5” valued ones, but there is
certainly enough to play the game. All of the cards have excellent
artwork on them and certainly help emit a treasure-hunting theme. The
one component that I’m not overly fond of is the tent cards. You can
fold them in half or gently curve them (there is a sheet included in
the game dedicated to just explaining the various methods), but it
just is a little “cheaper” than I would like. However, no one that I
played with had a problem with it – so it could just be me, and I will
admit that the tents were functional. The game is very easy to tote
around and can be set up quite quickly.

2.) Rules: The rules are on in a small four-page booklet that easily
and quickly explains how to play the game with several color
illustrations. As for teaching the game, I’ve now taught it to dozens
of people and never had anyone not immediately understand the game.
It has a “push your luck” element to it that is simply intuitive to
most people; and since the game has a high-speed element, many people
learn simply by watching others play.

3.) Artifacts: Artifacts were not included in the original Diamant
rules, and the rulebook for Incan Gold even mentions that you can take
them out – but I can’t fathom doing so. I certainly enjoyed Diamant,
but the artifacts add another level to the game –as players are
rewarded if they are the only one who runs, and another player can
take the big prize from them. They are a welcome edition, and I
highly recommend leaving them in, since they add that much more fun to
the game.

4.) Fun Factor: Normally, I talk about game mechanics for a while
before getting to this point, but I really have a hard time talking
about Incan Gold without mentioning just how stinkin’ fun the game is!
Really, it’s just a blast to play, and you’ll hear the entire group
laughing the entire time. There are yells when everyone runs at the
same time, giving small amounts of treasure to all, and there are
cries of dismay when a player pushes their luck too far. I’m the type
of player who likes to stay in the temple as long as possible, and
often I’m the only one left, gingerly turning over cards, hoping that
I find a mother load of jewels. Unfortunately, it seems as if the
cards conspire against me, and I lose everything to the squeals of
delight from other player. And really, that’s all Incan Gold is – a
game in which players attempt to push their luck and warily study the
other players, wondering when they are going to dash from the temple.
Game play is simple, the time is short even with the full complement
of eight players, and invariably people will want to play again. Just
today, I introduced the game to a bunch of teenagers, and they didn’t
want to stop playing. Games like this are a “must have” for my
collection.

I’ve only added a few points to this review, but I think that I can’t
say much more – other than that the game is pure fun. It reminds me
quite a bit of Cloud 9, and the fact that it plays quickly in large
groups – even groups that aren’t used to playing games. Good for
youth groups, school classes, get-togethers, and openers for game
groups – Incan Gold has the potential to become extremely popular –
and it should, a clever, simple little game.

This game has one of the best qualities that I love in a game.
Easy for the whole family to pick up. The mechanics are very
simple, but they work beautifully. If you are looking for a bluffing
game that has a very distinct flavor to it this is it. So grab a bag
of chips and get your friends because this game is an intense riot!

I like bidding games, and this one is perfect
for a quick play without complicated rules. The
theme, vaguely reminiscent of "Indiana
Jones," makes it a game people will want to
play right away when they see it.

The rules are easy to learn, and while the
strategy is thin, you do have to decide when
to opt out of the bidding, much like the dice
game Can't Stop.

Players choose an explorer that's used only
for a fist-bid when they want to claim their
jewels.

The player collecting the most jewels in five
rounds of play wins. What's interesting about
the game is the decision on when to claim
your jewels.

A card is played with either a number (1-17)
representing jewels discovered or a hazard
(poison gas, explosion, snake, scorpion, rock
slide). Players bid simultaneously on staying in
for another card turn or opt out and claim the
jewels. Example: When a 12 card is played
and there are 4 players, each player receives
3 jewels. In situations where there are excess
jewels after equal disbursement -- a common
occurrence -- the remainder go on the card.

After several rounds of play, the remaining
jewels sitting on cards can add up to quite a
stash, further enticement to stay in the
bidding as the harzard cards pile up. When a
second similar hazard card is drawn, people
still bidding lose everything.

Fairly often you have situations where the
hazard cards come out to start play and it's
obvious that you will continue bidding, so you
have to go through the motion of making a fist
bid anyway.